URLs clicked in other programs won't load in Firefox

Just within the last 1-3 weeks (?) or so, I find that I can't click on links in other programs and have the URL load in Firefox, which is my default browser. They always used to load perfectly and switch me to the new tab in FF, but now they don't.

At first I tried disabling a couple of recent FF add-ons one at a time to see if one of them might have been the problem, but that didn't seem to solve it, though I may have missed one. Still, I can't imagine how an unrelated add-on could cause URLs not to load from other programs. I have tried loading URLs by clicking on them in Thunderbird, WordPad, MailWasher Pro, and even Libre Office, but all of them either just twitched the screen for an instant and then stopped, or else gave me a message such as "WordPad was unable to open the URL" or "There was a problem sending the command to the program" (Libre Office). However, when I copy and paste those same URLs into FF and hit Enter, those sites load perfectly.

I may be wrong in this, but it appears that something has changed within FF that now prevents links clicked in other programs from loading. My only other thought at the moment is that this may possibly have started about the time I upgraded from FF 10.0.2 to FF 11.0.1, but I have no firm evidence to support that theory.

This is really an annoying and inconvenient problem, so any help in resolving it will be hugely appreciated!

Thanks for the suggestion. I checked it out and, sure enough, Firefox does indeed have all its defaults. As to other programs, I've only tried loading URLs from the four programs I mentioned, but that seemed to be enough to indicate that the finger of blame probably needed to be pointed at Firefox, as FF was the common variable in all four tests. Other/better thoughts on that will be welcome.

I'm not sure where to go from here, but I'm hoping that if it percolates on the web long enough, someone smarter than I am (and that's just about everybody) will come up with a solution.

Hi Al
Of the 4 programs you mentioned, I only use Wordpad & T Bird portable without any trouble, so it must be FF.
With FF closed type %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ in the start menu search box, click the item that appears and delete localstore.rdf FF will replace it on starting.

The Following User Says Thank You to Roderunner For This Useful Post:

You, Sir, are a prince! That appears to have solved the problem, as I have tried loading links from all four programs that previously wouldn't load them and all four now work fine. Deleting localstore.rdf did mess up my toolbars and wipe out all the customization I'd done, but no matter, I got that sorted out again fairly quickly.

If it would not be too great an imposition, I'd appreciate knowing any thoughts you might have about what the actual problem was with localstore.rdf, why it arose, and how I can prevent it from happening again in the future.

Many thanks for your expert help, and also for the great quote from Robert Burns.

Hi, Roderunner,
If it would not be too great an imposition, I'd appreciate knowing any thoughts you might have about what the actual problem was with localstore.rdf, why it arose, and how I can prevent it from happening again in the future.

Cheers,
Al

FF tends to self destruct when new versions get added, I prefer doing them as a clean install after backing up my bookmarks & passwords.

This is a very annoying but rather old Firefox problem, as a quick internet search will show. Luckily it seems to have been fixed in recent versions. You can try downloading the latest version then re-installing it over the existing version, which should hopefully solve the problem without damaging your customisations. If not, try the solution above.

Thanks for your post. Although I've used FF as my default browser since it first came out, I'd never experienced this particular problem before, so perhaps I was just one of the lucky ones up until recently. I have FF11.0.1 working fine now, but if this problem should ever recur, I'll give your method a try.

Thanks for your post. Although I've used FF as my default browser since it first came out, I'd never experienced this particular problem before, so perhaps I was just one of the lucky ones up until recently. I have FF11.0.1 working fine now, but if this problem should ever recur, I'll give your method a try.

Cheers,
Al

This is interesting and I'm not sure how it happened. I had FF 11.0.1 on my machine. I have not restored to an earlier point nor made any other changes to the browser but it somehow reverted back to 11.0. Went to Mozilla downloaded a fresh copy and re-installed, still 11.0. No idea. I'd try asking them but they aren't really reachable most of the time. Just an oddity I've never run across before. I have full functionality so it isn't an issue of concern, just interest.

This is interesting and I'm not sure how it happened. I had FF 11.0.1 on my machine. I have not restored to an earlier point nor made any other changes to the browser but it somehow reverted back to 11.0. Went to Mozilla downloaded a fresh copy and re-installed, still 11.0. No idea. I'd try asking them but they aren't really reachable most of the time. Just an oddity I've never run across before. I have full functionality so it isn't an issue of concern, just interest.

After reading your post, I checked my installation of FF 11.0.1 and, sure enough, it now says 11.0. Weird! As you said, it's not an issue of concern, but it is indeed odd and something I've never seen before either. Thanks for pointing it out.

I think Firefox has decided to do away point of versions and settled on full numbers.(I don't know for sure but surmise this). I expect the next update will be version 12 then 13 etc. All to do with keeping up with chrome so there versions look as new as them even if it does not really matter what they call their versions.

Clive

All typing errors are my own work and subject to patents pending. Except errors by the spell checker. And that has its own patients.

I think Firefox has decided to do away point of versions and settled on full numbers.(I don't know for sure but surmise this). I expect the next update will be version 12 then 13 etc. All to do with keeping up with chrome so there versions look as new as them even if it does not really matter what they call their versions.

You're probably right about that. I just wish that FF (and Thunderbird) would stop all this "updating for the sake of updating" nonsense and just chill out. If there's a really important improvement to the program, then sure, update it, but otherwise, just leave us in peace. All this extra updating means that many of our FF and TB add-ons no longer work with the new versions because the add-on developers can't keep up with Mozilla's silly new "updates every hour, on the hour" policy. Sure, it's possible to manually tweak some add-ons to make them work with the new versions of the programs, but that's a lot of extra work caused by these incessant updates, for most of which there is no compelling reason.

You, Sir, are a prince! That appears to have solved the problem, as I have tried loading links from all four programs that previously wouldn't load them and all four now work fine. Deleting localstore.rdf did mess up my toolbars and wipe out all the customization I'd done, but no matter, I got that sorted out again fairly quickly.

If it would not be too great an imposition, I'd appreciate knowing any thoughts you might have about what the actual problem was with localstore.rdf, why it arose, and how I can prevent it from happening again in the future.

Many thanks for your expert help, and also for the great quote from Robert Burns.

Cheers,
Al

Once you re-setup all your tool-bars bookmarks etc to how you want them. You could try copying the "localstore.rdf " file and saving it somewhere safe (IE external HDD in a folder. So if it happens again your can replace that corrupted folder with your saved one so not have to redo all your toolbar customizations again.

Clive

All typing errors are my own work and subject to patents pending. Except errors by the spell checker. And that has its own patients.